Sr. Anna and June at the top of the pyramidBlog by Sr. June Fitzgerald, OP

I climbed a pyramid . . .

and other adventures in the life of a Dominican Sister of Peace.

It’s all about perspective you know. Photographers and theologians alike know that one’s perspective directly influences what one sees and how it is interpreted. Yet, how often are we consciously aware of our own perspective?

For a moment, I invite you to think about your perspective. Where do you live? What cultural lens, physical condition, gender, values and religious beliefs make up your “view” of the world around you?

Ponder that for a moment, look around you. How often do you/we really look around ourselves fully conscious of our perspective on the world? I’d like to share a recent adventure where my perspective of the world required seeing from a different lens.

Last month, when visiting Mexico City for a cultural and language immersion program, I had the opportunity to climb the Pyramid of Cuicuilco which is the oldest pyramid in Mesoamerica. The pyramid was built around 6,000 BC and it was used for religious ceremonies and cultural gatherings. The legends tell that it was a place, “where they make songs and dances”. It was buried under volcanic rock and ash after the eruption of the volcano Xitli around 60 BC.

The site has been excavated and some of the pyramid has been repaired to represent its original shape and size. It is one of the few pyramids that were built in the shape of a circle or a cone. Actually, the people of this area believed that at the center of the pyramid was the place where all civilization had emerged. That point was believed to be the “belly-button” of the earth and that they were the first people. That was their perspective, as coming from and being in the center of all creation.

Fast forward to a hot day in June 2017, standing at the apex of the pyramid we were able to see for many miles in each direction. We could see the ancient volcanoes, open fields, and a dense city-scape circling out around us. From our perspective we could imagine being in the center of all creation. Yet . . . we know that we are not – we are a part of the whole of creation. God is at the center.

If I live out of that reality – that God is at the center – then, my perspective changes. My life changes focus, as do all of my choices. Today, as I stand where my feet are, I turn to my center – take God’s hand and step out in faith.

What is your perspective? Where is your center?

Discerning a call from God can sometimes feel like being called out onto a new vista – a new perspective. If you find yourself being called to this something new, this something more why not explore this call with one of our vocation ministers? Be bold in your response to God.

As I think about the upcoming World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (July 30th), I can’t help but think of the message that Pope Francis sends us when he tells us that we need to be among the sheep: “Finding the lost sheep is a joy to God, because He has a loving weakness for those who are lost.” These were the words of Pope Francis during his homily at Mass in Casa Santa Marta.

I am on two commissions on Human Trafficking. It is interesting to do the research, scour the statistics, and brainstorm about the ways we can reach out to help. I often wonder about new programs we can implement, where we can get funding, and how we can find more volunteers interested in the cause.

All of these are concrete issues: things that need to be addressed. But for me, there is a nagging deep inside that tells me I need to go out into the streets.
I’m not comfortable making decisions by talking about what we should be doing just by analyzing statistics or films that show what goes on in the streets.

The Educator in me needs to take it to the streets. I know the reality. I know the rejection. I don’t expect everyone to come running to me with open arms ready to share their story and accept my help. Although I have not worked with these women who have been trafficked, I have worked the streets doing my best to offer assistance to the mentally challenged, to those returning from prison, the homeless living under the bridge, in their own camps, homeless and on the streets, individuals with varying needs.

It is not an easy job.

You need to be gentle. You need to be kind, loving from a distance, and patient, very, very patient. And you need to be street smart or you won’t be able to accomplish what you need in order to be successful.

The Dominican women that I work with are trained and far more experienced than I am. The work that they do really makes a difference. They make a difference. They count. They make strides daily in this ugly world where human life is treated so deplorably.

My only hope is that after some training, I will be able to walk in the footsteps of these Dominican women, and if I can touch one person and make their life better, I will have achieved what Pope Francis challenged me, and all of us, to do.

Pope Francis reminds us, “Each one of us is precious; each one of us is irreplaceable in God’s eyes.” [Tweet 6/25/17] This is what we need to bring to the women we meet on the streets.

In Columbus, Ohio, people have been blessed for 21 years with the existence of the B.R.E.A.D. Organization. (Building Responsibility, Equality and Dignity). Forty diverse faith communities join together to work for justice in our community. We do this work using a four-step process each year: listening, research, action, and follow-through. We begin each autumn with house meetings where we identify what is personally affecting our lives and those of friends and family. After a meeting of hundreds of people each November, where we vote on what to begin to address that year, research on the issue begins until a solution is found. Each May, we hold a Nehemiah Action Meeting with thousands of people in attendance where public officials make specific commitments to work with B.R.E.A.D. Follow-through continues over the next few years until a solution is achieved. It is not unusual for it to take 3-4 years to achieve a result.

Over these past 20 years, B.R.E.A.D. has accomplished many things using this four-step process. Among our accomplishments are:

A County Land Bank with 3.5 million dollars annually which has resulted in demolition of over 2,000 vacant properties;

Reducing violent crime in our city through the institution of a program aimed at youth groups.

The work of B.R.E.A.D. aligns perfectly with Catholic Social Teaching. In Micah 6:6-8 and in Matthew 23:23-24 we are called to do justice, mercy and worship God. However, people seem to more easily worship God and do acts of mercy than to work for justice. I often wonder why this is so. Perhaps it is because the Consumer Culture is stronger than the Justice Culture. The consumer culture sees “self” isolated from others and individuals seek to accumulate things. The justice culture sees “self” in relation to others (common good) and a fair distribution of God’s bounty is essential. Perhaps it is because we get more self-satisfaction from doing works of mercy (for example, feeding the hungry) than doing the difficult long-term work of changing systems in order to secure justice.

I continue to have a vision of what we could accomplish if all our Catholic parishes joined B.R.E.A.D. and used their power to work for justice in our city. Then, Columbus would be more like the City of God than a Tale of Two Cities.

Madison Wells, sophomore at Ohio Dominican University & member of the Dominican Young Adult Group

Truthfully, I never thought that April would come. We scheduled the trip for our Dominican Kentucky Experience Extravaganza in the fall and so much life happened in between the planning and the doing. Alas, the day finally came and all seven of us – three Sisters, two students, one Priest, and one Justice Promoter – squeezed into a van and hit the road. We were finally Kentucky-bound. We had our fair share of bathroom breaks and snack stops before we reached our first destination: The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani. We toured the guest chapel and bookshop before heading in the main chapel to devote a half an hour of Vesper’s prayer with the monks. What a truly wonderful way to begin our trip by talking with our Lord in His House! I didn’t realize the power of taking 30 minutes to talk with God, especially when it’s difficult to find 10 minutes. It was truly a blessing. Afterwards, with it being a Lenten Friday, we found our way to a church with two great pastimes: bingo and a fish fry. (If you’re ever hankering for some quality bean soup, that church has it.) Finally, we made it to the St. Catharine Motherhouse. Continue reading →

Yearning for Change

Kasha Sequoia Slavner was 14 years old when she decided she had enough of a constant barrage of negative news. Terrorism, war, human trafficking and negative political ads filled television screens in her native Canada. Kasha experienced her own time of being surrounded by domestic violence. Her mother was physically abused by her father and divorced him. They were homeless for a period of time before experiencing a stable home life.

At 14 she became involved in a peace and justice committee and began raising money to travel around the world videotaping scenes of people who made a difference in the lives of others. She traveled to Tanzania and interviewed a man who established a school for girls, a desperate need for girls in Africa and the Middle East. She created the documentary, The Sunrise Storyteller, a good news film that provided inspiration for many attending the 61st annual Commission on the Status of Women. I was privileged to represent Dominicans Sisters of North America at this important gathering at the United Nations. Continue reading →